Conversion of continuous filaments into yarn containing staple fiber



W. I. TAYLOR A ril 5, 193s.

Filed March 3, 1936 y ATAY RQ ATTORNEYS Patented Apr. 5, 193

CONVERSION CONTINUOUS FILAMENTS INTO YARN CONTAINING STAPLE FIBER William Ivan Taylor, Spondon, near Derby, England, assignor to Celanese Corporation of I America, a corporation of Delaware Application March a, 1936, Serial No. 66,86!

InGreat Britain March 6, 1935 9 Claims.

This invention relates to a method and apparatus for the conversion of continuous filaments directly into yarn containing staple fiber.

According to the invention, a bundle of fila- 5 'ments is caused to passbetween a'positively driven surface, e. g. a roller moving in the same. general direction as the filaments, at the same or at a difierent speed, and a second surface which, together-with the first surface, makesof the passage of the filaments between the surfaces and the difierent speeds of the surfaces filaments in the bundle are transformed into staple fibers and the filaments leave the surfaces as a yarn containing staple fiber.

The operation of converting continuous filaments in the bundle into staple fibers as described above does not substantially afiect the degree of twist which the bundle may possess. However, when the bundle has little or no twist, the product should be collected, after the, conversion of the filaments into staple fibers, by a twisting and winding operation to impart to it a twist, which may be the amount of twist required in the final product, or may need to be augmented by further twisting. In either case,

the twist so imparted during winding maintains the coherence of the product. Alternatively, the coherence may be maintained by reason of a substantial initial degree of twist in the continuous filament bundle, which twist, as previously stated, is practically unaffected by the conversion.

In all cases the difference of speed between the two surfaces which are pressed together should be adjusted in accordance with the nature of the material under treatment and the characteristics desired in the final product. The apparatus for carrying out the invention may be so designed as to permit the necessary adjustment of speed to be effected while allowing substantially independent control of the pressure exerted between the surfaces to be maintained. Even, however, if the braking means according to'the in- 0' vention is such as to produce an effect ,upon

55 greater or less denier.

Other factors governing the nature of. the finalv product, which factors may be varied as required, are the nature of the cutting surface, the speed of progression of the filament bundle through the apparatus, the difference between the speed of the surface or surfaces and the filaments, the fineness of the individual filaments in the bundle, and the amount of twist in the bundle.

The cutting surface may be of an abrasive nature, e. g. a roller surfaced with or made of abrasive material. It is, however, advantageous to employ a cutting roller provided with'fine sharp-edged. flutes running either helically or substantially parallel to the axis of the roller, a roller of this type providing for greater control 15 over the pfiiperties of the final product. Both surfaces may have a cutting-action, for example I both surfaces may consist of fluted cutting rollers, the flutes running in such directions as to cross each other'at the point of contact between. the rollers. One roller,'however, may have a plain surface, I

It is advantageous to allow the weight of one of the, rollers to provide the necessary light pres- 4 cutting periphery, rides on the positively driven 3o roller so as to provide apredetermined pressure between the rollers.

The invention is'applicable to the treatment of different kinds of continuous filaments, e.- g. cellulose derivative filaments such as cellulose acetate filaments, cellulosic' filaments such as viscose filaments, and'natural silk filaments.

By way of example some forms of apparatus according to the present-invention will now be described in greater detail withreference to the 40 accompanying drawing in which Fig.1 is a side elevation of an apparatus for converting a bundle of continuous'filaments into a spun yarn containing staple fiber and- 'Figs. 2 .to 6 show alternative forms. of the braking means according to the present inven-- tion applied .to Fig. l.

- Referring to Fig. 1 the apparatus comprises generally two pairs of rollers I, 2, 3, 4, the rollers passing through a slot |2 in the bracket 1 so that the position of the member ID may be adjusted vertically. The roller 4 is mounted in bearings carried in a slot l3 in the lower end of the bracket 1.

Yarn l4 consisting of continuous filaments is supplied horizontally to the upper pair of rollers 2 and passing over the roller proceeds downwards to the rollers 3, 4. The roller 3 is grooved, so that it grips the filaments with the aid of the roller 4, and is driven at a higher speed than the roller I. In consequence the bundle of continuous filaments is caused to slip over the surface of the roller The roller is provided with flutes making sharp edges with the surface of the roller, so that the roller I exerts-a cutting action on the filaments and converts the bundle of continuous filaments I4 into a continuous bundle of staple fibers I5. This bundle proceeds downwards to the guide l6 of a cap-spinning device I! by means of which it is twisted and spun into X a staple fiber yarn and wound on the package l8 which is driven by means of the band IS.

The weight of the roller 2 rests upon the roller l, a clearance 20 being provided at the bottom of the slotted bearing 9. The roller 2 is thus driven by frictional engagement with the roller and would, if not prevented, rotate at the same speed as the roller In order to cause the roller 2 to rotate at a lower speed than the roller I the roller 2 is provided with a brake drum 2| round WhiCil passes a cord 22 secured at one end at 23 to the member ID and passing over a small pulley 24 carried on the member ID. The free end of the cord 2| is loaded with a weight 25. The friction between the drum 2| and the cord 22 checks the roller 2 and causes it to rotate at a lower peripheral speed than the roller I. Since the run of the cord 22 from the point 23 to the drum 2| and from the drum 2i to the pulley. 24 is substantially horizontal the action of the cord upon the drum does not add to the pressure between the roller 2 and the roller this pressure being independently adjusted by any suitable means such as weights placed in suitable cavities in'the roller 2 and being free to act upon the roller l by reason of the clearance28.

In Fig. 2 a similar braking effect is achieved by means of two springs 26, 21 secured to faces 28, 28 on the member ID by means of screws 30. The pressure of each of the springs 26, 21 upon the surface of the friction drum 2| is adjustable by means of a screw 3| provided with a knurled head 32 and a lock nut 33. Here again the pressure of each of the springs upon the drum 2| is substantially horizontal so that the pressure between the roller 2 and the roller is not affected by them. In Fig. 3- the drum 2| is acted upon by a brake shoe 35 mounted on a lever 36 which is pivoted at 31 to the member l0. Attached to the lever 36 is a lever 38 carrying a weight 39 at its free end by means of which the brake shoe 35 is pressed against the brake drum 2|.

In Figs. 4 and braking means for the roller 2 are shown which directly affect the pressure between the roller 2 and the roller In Fig. 4 the roller 2 is carried upon a spindle 48 against which bears a suitably shaped weight 4|, so as to make frictional engagement therewith, and to check the speed of the roller 2. Additional weights 42 are added above the weight 4| to bring up the total weight to any desired amount. The weights 4|, 42 are H shaped in plan so that they may be dropped into the slotted bearing 9 and be held in position there. In Fig. 5

frictional engagement is made with the roller 2 by means of a presser member 43 carrying weights 44 mounted on pegs 45 thereon. The member 43 is held in position over the roller 2 by means of wings 45 extending outside the bearing 9 and held in position thereby. In each of these cases the pressure between the roller 2 and the roller is equal to the combined weights of the roller 2 and of the loading carried thereby for the purposes of the present invention, and this fact must be taken into account when adjusting the pressure between the two rollers.

Similar allowance must be made in the case of the apparatus shown in Fig. 6. In'this apparatus the roller 2 is engaged by means of a roller 41 carried upon a lever 48 pivoted at 49 on an extension 58 of the member Ill. The free end of the lever 48 is loaded with a weight 5| which may be set at any of the notches 52 in the upper side of the lever so as to adjust the pressure between the roller 41 and the roller 2. The rotation of the roller 41 is checked by means of a spring 53 bearing against it, the pressure between the spring 53 andthe roller 41 being adjusted by means of a screw 54 carried in a bracket 55 on the upper side of the lever 48. By these means the roller 41 is caused to rotate at the same peripheral speed as the roller 2 and rubbing engagement with the roller 2 is avoided. At the same time the force which the roller 2 has to apply to rotate the roller 41 against the friction action of the spring 53 checks the'roller 2 and causes it to rotate at a lower speed than the roller I.

Having described my invention what I desire to secure by Letters Patent is:-

1. Process for the production from a bundle of continuous filaments of a continuous product containing staple fibers, said process comprising V surfaces to press together so as to exert pressure on said bundle, positively driving one of said surfaces, permitting the other of said surfaces to be driven by said positively driven surface, and applying a force to said other surface so as to cause it to rotate at a lower peripheral speed than said positively driven surface, one at least of said cylindrical surfaces being a cutting surface so that by reason of the passage of the filaments between the surfaces and the different speeds of the surfaces the filaments in the bundle are transformed into staple fiber.

2. Process according to claim 1 wherein the force applied is a frictional force.

3. Apparatus for the production from a bundle of continuous filaments of a continuous product containing staple fibers, said apparatus comprising a pair of rollers, one at least of said rollers having a cutting surface, means for drawing a bundle of continuous filaments through said pair of rollers, means for pressing said rollers together so as to exert a pressure upon the bundle of filaments passing between them, means for positively driving one of said rollers, and means for applying a braking force to the other of said rollers so as to cause it to rotate at a lower peripheral speed than said positively driven roller.

4. Apparatus for the production from abunmeet-continuous filaments of a continuous product containing staple fibers, said apparatus comprising a pair of rollers, one at least of said rollers having a cutting surface, means for drawing a bundle of continuous filaments through said pair of rollers, means for pressing said rollers together so as to exert a pressure upon the bundle of filaments passing between them, means for positively driving'one of said rollers, a braking surface secured to the other of said rollers, and means for applying a frictional force to said braking surface so as to cause said other roller to rotate at a lower peripheral speed than said positively driven roller.

\ 5. Apparatus for the production from a bundle of continuous filaments of a continuous product containing staple fibers, said apparatus comprising a pair of rollers, one at least of said rollers having a cutting surface, means for drawing a bundle of continuous filaments through said pair of rollers, means for pressing said rollers together so as to exert a pressure upon the bundle of filaments passing between them, means for positively driving one of said rollers, a braking surface attached to the other of said rollers, and a weight adapted to apply a force to said'braking surface so as to cause said other roller to rotate at a lower peripheral speed than said positively driven roller.

6. Apparatus for the production from a bundle of continuous filaments of a continuous product containing staple fibers, said apparatus comprising a pair of rollers, one at least of said rollers having a cutting surface, means for drawing a bundle of continuous filaments through said pair of rollers, means for pressing said rollers together so as to exert a pressure upon the bundle of filaments passing between them, means for positively driving one of said rollers, a braking surface secured to the other of said rollers, a' fiex ible cord adapted to pass round said brakingsurface, guide means adapted to conduct said cord to and from said surface in a direction substantially perpendicular to the pressure between said rollers so as not to affect said pressure, and a weight upon said cord adapted to draw it into frictional engagement with said braking surface so as tocause said other roller to rotate at a lower peripheral speed than said positively driven roller.

7. Apparatus for the production from a bundle of continuous filaments of a continuous product containing staple fibers, said apparatus comprising a pair of rollers, one at least of said rollers having a cutting surface, means for drawing a bundle of continuous filaments through said pair of rollers, means for pressing said rollers together so as to exert a pressure upon the bundle of filaments passing between them, means forpositively driving one of said rollers, ,a braking surface secured to the other of said rollers, a pivotally mounted shoe adapted to bear against said braking surface, in a direction substantially at right angles to the pressure between said rollers so as not to affect said pressure, and a weight adapted to force said shoe against said braking surface so as to cause said other roller to rotate at a lower peripheral speed thansaid positively driven roller.

8. Apparatus for the production from a bundle of continuous filaments of ascontinuous product containing staple fibers, said apparatus comprising a pair of.rollers, one at least of said rollers a lower peripheral speed than said positively driven roller.

9. Apparatus for the production from a bundle of continuous filaments of a continuous product containing staple fibers, said apparatus comprising a pair of rollers, one at least of said rollers having a cutting surface, means for pressing said rollers together so as to exert a pressure upon the bundle of filaments passing between them, means, for positively driving one of said rollers, a further roller adapted to bear against and be driven by the other of said rollers, and

means for applying a frictional force to said further roller, said force being transmitted to said other roller so as to cause it to rotate at a lower peripheral speed than said positively drivenroller. 46

WILLIAM IVAN TAYLOR. 

